September 15, 2007 / Perspective / Parenting / Smartmom

Smartmom’s still worrying

By Louise Crawford

The Brooklyn Paper

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The start of the school year has been an emotional roller coaster for Smartmom, what with so many things to worry about. Will Teen Spirit like his new high school? Will the Oh So Feisty One adjust to her new teachers and classmates? Will Hepcat ever finish the time-consuming project he’s been working on for months?

And finally, will Smartmom ever get back to what she was doing before the summer vacation — whatever that was?

For Teen Spirit, the new school year meant starting 11th grade in a new high school. Talk about stressful. Smartmom loves the new school and hopes that Teen Spirit will excel there, but that doesn’t mean she stops herself from interrogating him every day when he comes home. She can’t help herself.

“How was it? Do you like it? Do you have any homework?”

Teen Spirit finds all this very irritating and likes to keep his responses to a minimum — at least around his mother.

When he came home with his arms and shirt splattered with paint, she found out that he’s been working on a mural as part of a school-wide social service project. Cool.

New school. New classes. New subway. New routines. And, boy, is Teen Spirit glad that doesn’t have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes to this new, more progressive school, which is the polar opposite of his old prep school. Smartmom has her fingers crossed.

OSFO is a lot more forthcoming when it comes to talking about school. She started fifth grade at PS 321 and is now one of the oldest kids in the school. A senior. A big kid. Not surprisingly, she’s excited.

But she also misses her teachers from last year. One minute, she hates fifth grade, the next minute, she loves it. The first night of school she got 110 multiplication and division problems for homework.

“They have some nerve giving us so many math problems,” she told Smartmom. “I hate fifth grade.”

Smartmom can tell that OSFO is already stressing about middle school, even though it’s a full year away. All the kids are talking about it. Some of them even seem to know where they want to go.

“Where am I going to go?” she’s asked Smartmom more than once. The question gives Smartmom a case of heartburn.

But fifth grade has its fun moments, too. OSFO and a friend are walking to school together — without adults. That’s a small step for mankind, but is it a giant leap for OSFO.

Then there’s Hepcat. He’s been working all summer on a Web site for a local university. He doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t eat. And he’s barely had time to learn the names of OSFO’s teachers or the courses that Teen Spirit is taking.

He just codes code, talks on the phone, and looks exceedingly agitated. Most nights, he hops into bed just minutes before Smartmom has to wake up.

Not surprisingly, Smartmom is dying for the project to be completed. Then he’ll have time to shave (he’s looking a little scuzzy), to do some chores around the house (that hallway light bulb really needs to be changed), and, perhaps most importantly, time to pay some attention to Smartmom, who’s got her own problems to worry about. Dumb Editor has been on her case about missing deadlines (Dumb Editor note: Smartmom’s copy is so pristine and coherent that I have to have something to complain about, don’t I?). She also needs to work on her novel and drum up some freelance writing projects.

Smartmom knows she isn’t the only one having a tough time this week. Mrs. Kravitz is running herself ragged now that her full-time job is back in full swing. Diaper Diva is about to begin Ducky’s prolonged phase-in to pre-school and many of Smartmom’s friends and neighbors are busy making appointments for middle school tours.

This week, worry seems to be the name of the game. Smartmom hopes that Teen Spirit will put his best foot forward at the new high school and really enjoy learning there. She hopes OSFO will stop missing her fourth-grade teachers and be more “in the moment” about fifth grade.

And Hepcat.

Maybe he’ll stop working so hard, so he’ll have some time to worry, too. It’s not much fun doing it alone. And there’s so much to worry about, isn’t there?

Louise Crawford also writes the Web site, “Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn.”

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper